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The Campaign for Better Transport is campaigning to reopen more rail lines and stations, electrify more of the railway, and make fares fair.
Campaign for Better Transport writes:
We helped convince the previous Government to set up the Restoring your Railway Fund in 2020. In just four years, the fund had proved to be a success by reconnecting communities that had been cut off from the rail network for decades and enabling millions more train journeys set to be made. The Dartmoor Line was the first to reopen through the Restoring your Railway Fund programme and was fully restored in just nine months. It was delivered £10 million under budget, transforming a mothballed former freight railway to regular passenger services. The restored Northumberland Line will open in December 2024 and will bring passenger trains back into service between Ashington and Newcastle with six new railway stations.
We were extremely disappointed when the current Government unexpectedly choose to cancel the fund, despite it being the only national, government fund available to reopening lost lines and stations. We believe that to help expand the rail network, we need a national programme of reopenings. Our 2019 report, The case for expanding the rail network, made the case for a specific programme of reopenings to bring half a million people within walking distance of a train station and allow an additional 20 million passengers journeys a year on the network.
Below you will find a region-by-region list of rail lines and stations that have been suggested – by campaign groups and visitors to this website – for reopening. We want your help: If you have a photograph of a closed line or want to suggest a line be added to this list, please contact us via this email form. Our work to protect and reopen rail lines and improve train travel relies on donations; please consider supporting us.
